We were thirsting for culture so we headed to the CCP to watch a modern dance festival, which included a couple of performances from a wonderful Japanese dancer and from Ballet Philippines 2. We initially (and falsely) thought this would be somewhat like Noh and given my past experience with traditional Japanese theater/music/dance (calling it weird would be an understatement), I wasn’t expecting too much. The show turned out to be an engaging, entertaining and enjoyable two hours with its excellent fusion of dance, performed music, poetry, visual art and humor. I actually like ballet minus all the tutus and arabesques and girls in pain. CCP was bursting with culture that night. Plays were also being staged in other theaters and I even encountered performance art (and a handful of vaguely familiar TV personalities) inside the men’s room.
We also had a late seafood pasta and pizza dinner plus bottles of excellently frigid beer by the bay and I sort of feel sorry that I really got to discover Manila’s charms only after having lived here for nearly a decade. No matter how big everything in Texas may be, I doubt it will ever compare with Manila.
